David Minor Memorial Fund

David Minor was a passionate activist for social and environmental justice and a strong proponent of sustainability. He died on June 2, 2008 at the age of 27 in a bicycling accident.

David grew up in Eugene and graduated from the University of Oregon with degrees in environmental studies and sociology. He worked as the manager at Jo Federigo’s restaurant, a place where he could facilitate people gathering to enjoy local food and good music. He played drums in a high school band and loved all kinds of music. He also enjoyed skiing, surfing, camping, gardening, and being around his family and many friends. David encouraged others to think about how their actions impacted the natural environment and those who are poor and oppressed, and he lived his life to reflect those values. He grew his own food and supported local farms to participate in a more just food system; he volunteered with Food Not Bombs; he rode his bike whenever possible to avoid supporting petroleum companies.

The Willamette Farm and Food Coalition is honored to help sustain David’s memory - and his passions for growing food, supporting local farms, and promoting social justice - through the David Minor Memorial Fund. The fund will be used to help strengthen programs that increase access to healthy, locally-grown foods for low-income families in Lane County.

Contribute online through PayPal by clicking here (please indicate David Minor Fund)

Or mail your contributions to:
Willamette Farm and Food Coalition
P.O. Box 41672
Eugene, OR 97404-0389
Please make checks payable to WFFC and put "David Minor Fund" on the memo line.

Art Shows to Benefit David Minor Memorial Fund

The David Minor Theater hosts a first Friday art opening each month, and has generously agreed to donate all commissions on first Friday art sales to the David Minor Memorial Fund. Please check the gallery section of the theater’s website to see the featured artist for each month. http://www.davidminortheater.com/

In March of 2009, awards were made to the following organizations:

FOOD for Lane County Gardens Program
Eliminating hunger by growing food, building skills and nourishing community. Food for Lane County operates three community garden programs offering varying levels of collaboration and education while producing vegetables for the food bank. Community members at the Grassroots Garden, high school students at Churchill Community Garden, and at-risk youth working a summer season at the Youth Farm, all share in the joys and challenges of growing food for those in need.

Huerto de la Familia (The Family Garden)
Providing opportunities to low-income Latino families to grow their own vegetables via garden access and training, and food preparation and preservation classes. Huerto’s Small Farmers Project is in its first season leasing land for families who expressed interest in growing additional food to sell at local markets.

Victory Gardens for All
Growing good food and changing the climate, one yard at a time! This volunteer run service organization assists families from all walks of life in planting gardens in their yards. No garden is too small. If a family cannot pay the fee for starts and soil amendments, it is subsidized. Using a pay-it-forward model, once the group has helped you plant a garden, all they ask is that you assist them in planting the next one.

That’s My Farmer Low Income Fund
That’s My Farmer is an annual event held by 16 Eugene faith communities highlighting farms with Community Supported Agriculture programs (pay in the spring and receive a box of produce every week throughout the season). The TMF Low-Income Fund was established with proceeds from the event to subsidize CSA shares for families in need. In the past two years the fund has also provided 40 low-income Latino families with Farmers’ Market dollars, redeemable at the Lane County Farmers’ Market and several area farm stands.